The seratonin molecule causes depression, according to the chemical imbalance theory

Physicians told the nearly 28 million Americans, who take prescribed selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) for depression, that a biochemical defect — a chemical impalance in the brain — caused their distress.

No longer do psychiatrists treat patients as individuals, with complex problems to be worked through in some kind of supportive talk therapy, but as a collection of neurotransmitters in need of a jump start. A 7-minute office visit produces a prescription for the latest “happy pill” on the market. “Never has a theory with so little